![]() While the loyalty of Jewish individuals was torn between the opposing camps, Jewish international associations, including the World Zionist Organization, declared themselves neutral. In both countries, Jews of German origin were required to sign humiliating public declarations of loyalty. Suspicions concerning their loyalty were even voiced in England and the United States, since the Jews did not hide their hostility toward the oppressive Russian autocracy, the ally of the two powers and indeed, there were those among the recently arrived immigrants from Russia who refused to enlist. Although the conclusions of these inquiries were never published, the statistics indicate that the percentage of Jewish losses was in no way smaller than that of the non‑Jewish population. Yet despite this massive enlistment, accusations of evasion and of profiteering were brought against the Jews in both countries, and official investigations were instigated. On the opposite side, almost 100,000 Jews were serving in the German army. ![]() Nevertheless, about half a million Jews donned Russian uniforms. Initially the Jews in Russia were no exception, but when the policy of deportation was implemented, many Jews began to pray for the victory of the Central Powers. Loyalty Questioned on Both SidesĪt the outbreak of the war, the Jews, eager to demonstrate their loyalty to their respective countries, rallied to the war effort. To aid their displaced and impoverished brethren, Jews around the world established welfare organizations on a scale previously unknown. Under Russian rule, the Jews were suspected of collaboration with the enemy, and 600,000 of them were banished from the front by the czarist army, a traumatic experience and an economic catastrophe that was still felt long after the war. In the autumn of 1914 and the winter of 1915, Russian forces occupied Austrian Galicia, and in the spring and summer of 1915, Germany and Austria conquered Congress Poland (the duchy annexed by Russia according to the treaties of 1815), Volhynia, Lithuania, and western Belorussia. The war on the eastern front between Russia and the Central Powers (Germany and Austria) was conducted on territories that were home to almost four million Jews. Furthermore, increasing tensions during the war years deepened the hostile attitudes towards the Jews, particularly in Germany and in Eastern Europe. This was due to the existence of a large concentration of Jews within one of the principal arenas, the enlistment of unprecedented numbers of Jews to the armies of the belligerent nations and the success of Jewish leaders in influencing the political policies of the major powers. The First World War, the most appallingly savage international conflict in all preceding history, had a profound impact on world Jewry. My Jewish Learning is a not-for-profit and relies on your help Donate
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